Cat, rat, and dog
Harry's mind had never gone blank in such an instant. They all stood transfixed with horror underneath the Invisibility Cloak. The final rays of the setting sun were casting a bloody light over the long, shadowed grounds. And then, a wild howl followed.
Padma twitched and her head swung in the direction it came from. Harry didn't think of what he was doing, turning back, but was caught off-guard when he found Draco still holding his hand, pulling him back.
"Let me go!"
"Shhh! I'm not letting you go! You can't go back!" Draco whispered sharply, "We'll be lucky if Macnair doesn't point that axe at you! He's wrapped around my father's finger like a ring, and I can bet neither of them are all that happy at you!"
Harry gave him a look. He stepped closer to Draco, whispering silent enough so only he'd hear.
"Snowflake, you and I are the only ones who know about that prediction Trelawney made. If that turns out to be real, you can't really expect me to just--"
"That's not even related to this--"
"Let me finish! If Voldemort's really coming back, I'm not going to sit and wait for everything to go to hell first--"
"OW!" Ron howled. "He bit me! What is the matter, you stupid rat?"
"Ron, shush!" Hermione whispered. "Fudge 'll be out here in a minute--"
"I’m- trying! Scabbers, he's-- not-- staying-- put--"
Scabbers was utterly terrified. He was writhing with all his might, trying his hardest to free himself from Ron's grasp.
"This way," hissed a voice so familiar it was almost irritating.
"Hydrus! What are you doing out here?" Harry asked silently, wheeling around to see Hydrus, followed by Crookshanks. Harry couldn't tell if Hydrus actually knew where they were, or if they were simply following the sound of Scabbers' squeaks, but both had the same, grim outcome.
"Crookshanks!" Hermione gasped. "No, no, no, go away, Crookshanks! Go away!"
"Hydrus! Hydrus, no!" Harry hissed. "Stop!"
Although, as if deaf, they continued forward.
"Scabbers, please-- NO!"
It was all too late; The rat had slid between Ron's fingers, leaving behind dirty bandages and patches of hair, hitting the ground and scampering away. Crookshanks sprang after him, Hydrus slithering along. Before any of them could stop him, Ron had ran away, disappearing into the darkness, nearly taking the cloak with him, but Hermione caught the end of it.
"He's trying to get himself killed!" Padma gasped. They all had not even glanced at eachother, chasing after him; It was Harry dragging Draco along this time. Ron was pelting up ahead, shouting at Crookshanks and Hydrus.
"Get away from him-- get away-- Scabbers, come here--"
There was a loud thud, followed by the grunts of Ron.
"Gotcha! Gerroff, you stupid-- er- wait- AHHH!"
Padma and Lisa nearly tripped over eachother, trying to stop before they stepped on Ron; Hermione, Harry, and Draco skidded to a stop almost immediately. Ron was sprawled on the ground, squirming around to avoid Crookshanks and Hydrus, his hands over his pocket, holding a quivering Scabbers.
"Ron, quickly, get back under the cloak," panted Hermione, looking back and forth between him and Hagrid's pumpkin patch.
But before she could free it from the tree branches it had gotten tangled in; Before they could catch their breath; There was the soft pounding of gigantic paws. Something in the dark was heading straight for them-- an enormous, pale-eyed, jet-black dog that reminded Harry vividly of the one he saw when he left the Dursleys. A bit too vividly, in fact.
He reached for his wand, but his hands were slower than the dog-- it had lunged and its front paws hit his chest. He gasped for air as he keeled over backwards in a whirlwind of hair, and Draco went falling with him. Sharp teeth were inches from Harry's face, and he could feel the dog's hot breath--
But the force of its jump had been too strong, for it rolled off him. Dazed, light-headed, and chest tight, Harry stumbled to sit up; It felt as though the large wound he had, spanning across an arm and his chest, had reopened, and he had to take a long moment to steady his breathing. Hydrus had slithered his way around Harry's waist, hissing an apology, which was quite the unfamiliar sight. The dog was growling, skidding around for a new attack.
Ron was the first on his feet, pushing Harry and Draco aside when the dog sprang towards them again. Padma had lunged at the dog, transforming into a wolf at once-- they rolled out of sight, the sound of growls and shuffling the only indicator they were still near; and then they returned, the dog appearing first, and Padma whose leg was now injured, faltered in trying to stop the dog as it went for Ron, and jaws locked on his arm in seconds. A multitude of spells went flying in their direction, aimed for the dog, and Hermione was shrieking them out so messily that it was almost unintelligible what she were saying. But within the darkness of the area, she couldn't see where the dog was, and Harry couldn't tell if even a single one of her spells hit. The dog was dragging Ron away as if he were a ragdoll--
And then, suddenly, something hit Harry's face so hard that he went flying, and Draco's hand left his. It was then that he realised why Lisa had yet to do anything-- she was too busy screaming, trying to free herself from the grasp of a branch from the Whomping Willow, which was using its other branches to whip back and forth to stop them from getting near.
"Starting to think I shouldn't have joined you and your friends last year," Draco said, just barely avoiding a branch aiming for his stomach.
"Of all the times you could've spoken!" Harry snapped sharply, watching as Padma made a beeline for the base of the trunk, where the dog was dragging Ron backwards into a large gap within the roots. He was fighting back, but was slipping out of sight-- first his head was gone, and his torso followed--
"RON!" Harry yelled, blinking blood out his eyes as the Willow whipped atleast two branches threateningly. Quickly, he turned into his own Animagus- a small, black fox- and dashed for the tree. But before he could get near, Lisa was suddenly flying, as the branch holding her was one of the two. For a moment, she was starting to turn into her Animagus, but she made contact with the ground before she had turned fully. The cracking noise her arm made when she landed was loud and sickening, followed by a shrill shriek that was brief, and eventually turned to cries as she rolled around, holding the spot that hurt the most. Padma paused where she was, unsure of whether to go for Lisa or Ron, but only one of his legs were visible, hooked around a root to try and stop going any further. And then yet another crack split the air-- his leg went numb, and soon, he had vanished from sight entirely.
"I've got her! Go for Ron!" Hermione wailed, already at Lisa's side, helping her to her feet. Padma disappeared down the hole shortly.
"My arm! My arm, its-- its all broken! Look at it!" Lisa sobbed, holding up her limp arm. It was the last thing Harry heard before he lunged, and almost all sound disappeared as he rolled down rocky, steep earth. He landed on his back, returning to his human self to take a breath. Getting to his feet, he returned to fox and felt his way along the start of what he now could tell was a tunnel. But suddenly, something hit him in the back, sending him forcefully forward and making him return to normal--
"Ow," Hermione whimpered, sitting up. "Oh- I'm sorry, Harry. That is a steep fall-- OW!"
Hermione then fell forward, and Harry had been quick enough to move back on his own this time. Draco had come down the hole next, and his foot hit the back of Hermione's knee, making her fall. "Ouch! Malfoy, you did that on purpose!"
"I did not!I thought you'd moved out of the way already! Maybe don't be so slow! Now get outta my way, Granger!"
Harry ignored the two's bickering, moving back to give them room. And after a long moment, a white crow came fluttering down the hole, evidently using much effort, as it was flying with a slight tilt. The moment she was on the ground, Lisa returned to normal.
"I can't fly good. My arm, it-- it- ow, ow, ow..." she whimpered, her voice cracking.
"Told you to stay back," Hermione snapped. "I told you to go up to the castle. And you can still go--"
She was cut off by her own gasp; Crookshanks had came down, smoother than any of them, and brushed past them all with a flick of his bushy tail. He paused only momentarily as he passed Harry, who was the only one unmoving, his ears twitching, and then hurried onwards, further into the tunnel. He heard shuffling behind him indication Hermione, Draco, and Lisa were following too.
Harry was moving so quick his legs had begun to hurt. This was the path Fred and George said went to Hogsmeade, wasn't it? It had to be; there couldn't have been another path planted under the Whomping Willow. It felt as long as the one that led to Honeydukes. Where did this one lead? But then worse thoughts overtook him.
What if Ron and Padma were hurt even more? He had gone down only seconds after Padma, and she herself just after Ron and the dog, yet they were both gone by time Harry had pulled himself together. Even wondering what the enormous dog may be doing made Harry's stomach churn. And the feeling that the wound had reopened had yet to leave, and he was drawing sharp, pained breaths, trying to mend the arch of the spot where it was aching the most.
Soon enough, the tunnel began to rise; And then it twisted, and Crookshanks, whose tail kept slapping Harry's knees, was gone. Squinting, Harry could just make out a patch of light through a small opening. Through the opening, he could see a dusty, disordered room. The walls were peeling, and there were stains all across the floor-- every bit of the furniture looked as if someone had thrown a tantrum. The windows were boarded up.
Harry glanced back at his friends; Draco had an unreadable look on his face, as usual, but there was a hint of nervousness to it. Hermione looked quite frightened, looking back at him with wide eyes. Lisa was very pale and still holding her broken arm, but she had stopped crying, leaving her eyes bloodshot.
Taking yet another breath, though this one, longer, Harry pulled himself through the hole, staring all around. The room was deserted, but a door to the right stood wide open, leading to a shadowy hallway.
"Oh," Hermione murmured. "I think we're in the Shrieking Shack."
Harry looked around again. His eyes fell on a wooden chair laying on its side. Large chunks had been torn from it, and one of the legs was missing entirely.
"I think there's more than ghosts up here," he said.
A creak, followed by what was presumably footsteps, above their heads made them all jump; Something had moved upstairs.
"Wands out, and stay on your guard..." Hermione warned, holding out her wand, and the look on her face just said that she already had a handful of spells on her tongue. Lisa struggled to get used to not being able to use her normal wand hand, though she managed-- Draco's eyes were flickering across the room and back warily.
As quiet as they could manage, they crept out to the hall and up the crumbling staircase. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust except for the floor, where paw prints were scattered across the sides of a shiny stripe, clearly made by something that had been dragged upstairs. Eventually, they reached the dark landing. There was a single, slightly opened door, and as they got closer to it, there was movement from behind it; a low cry followed by a deep, loud purring sound.
"Are we sure that using Episkey isn't going to work?" Lisa whispered, and Hermione sighed, although it was so silent it sounded as though it were just a breath.
"I told you to stay back anyway! I'm not going through this again with you! We've got to help Ron and Padma."
Holding his wand so tightly it had begun to hurt his hand, Harry kicked the door wide open.
On a magnificent four-poster bed with dusty hangings laid Crookshanks, purring loudly; Hydrus had been twisted around one of the pillars. On the floor beside the bed, holding his leg, which was sticking out at an odd angle, was Ron. Padma was beside him, unconscious, laying on her side.
"Padma!" Lisa shrieked, taking no time at all to rush to her side.
"Ron, are you alright?" Hermione asked, dashing across to him.
"Where's the dog?" asked Draco, looking around suspiciously.
"Not a dog," Ron muttered; His teeth were gritted in pain. "You gotta get out-- it's a trap--"
"Ron, what are you talking about?"
"He-- he's the dog.... He's an Animagus... he..."
Ron was looking over Harry's shoulder, but past Draco. Harry wheeled around; With a snap, the man standing silently in the shadows closed the door from behind them.
A mass of filthy, matted hair hung down to his elbows-- if his eyes weren't shining out the deep, dark sockets, he could've been a skeleton with all the skin he had stretched over his bones that didn't look like it was meant to be there. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin.
It was Sirius Black.
"Expelliarmus!" He yelled, pointing Ron's wand at them.
Harry, Hermione, and Draco's wands went flying from their hands, high up into the air, and Sirius caught them easily, stepping closer with his eyes fixed on Harry. Lisa's wand was buried into her pocket, but she looked as though she couldn't make her working arm reach over to get it.
"I thought you'd come and help your friends," Black said hoarsely. It sounded as though he hadn't used his voice in ages. "James would have done the same for me. Brave of you, not to run for a teacher... I'm grateful... it will make everything much easier...."
The words of his father's name rang in his ears. There was an inexplicable rage in his chest that burned a hole in his throat and his heart, leaving no space for any fear he should've felt. For the first time in his life, he'd genuinely wanted someone dead. At his own hands. And the thought was ridiculous, but he wasn't thinking-- he started to move forwards, but there was movement of either side of him and nearly all his friends held him back.
"Harry, don't!" Hermione whispered; Draco was shaking his head quickly; Lisa was just barely holding onto his leg, but she was evidently determined to not let go. Ron stood, shuffling past him and standing before the rest of them all.
"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill me first!" He bellowed, though the effort of standing had drained him of more energy than he intended, and he swayed slightly as he spoke. "If you want to- to kill anyone!"
Something flickered in Sirius's eyes. Confusion, followed by a look that Harry couldn't place.
"Harry--? No, nevermind that-- lie down," Sirius's smile faltered for a second as he spoke quietly. "You will damage that leg even more."
"Did you not hear me?" asked Ron weakly. "You'll have to kill me to make me move!"
"There'll only be one murder tonight." said Sirius simply, and his grin widened once more.
"Why's that?" Harry asked, ignoring the pit in his stomach. He busied himself with dragging Ron back and forcing him to sit on the bed, and despite his protests, the moment he was down, he collapsed, breathless and green in the face.
"Harry," Hermione whispered sharply. "I know you're mad, but this is one of the worst ways to go about it--"
"Mad?" Harry repeated. "Of course I'm mad. He's the reason mum and dad didn't get to raise us! He's the reason I had to live with the Dursleys! I--"
Suddenly, the wands went flying out of Sirius's hands. Draco dived for them, fortunately, catching all of them. Crookshanks lunged at Draco, sinking claws deep into his arm, but he was strong enough to not let go of the wands.
Pulling himself together, Harry took his wand when Draco offered it and turned right to Sirius.
"Ah. Going to kill me, Harley?"
"Harry." He mumbled. "It's Harry. But you wouldn't know, would you? You're the reason... everything happened. Even-- you-- you could've known- everything-- been there, for- for everything... if you just... didn't..."
Sirius's face fell, and a dark look overtook him. A look of sadness. Shame, even.
"I don't deny it to be my fault," he said silently. "But, please, if you knew the whole story--"
"The whole story?" Harry repeated. "I know enough-- you sold them out to Voldemort. Is there more to it than that?"
"You've got to listen to me," Sirius said, a hint of urgency in his voice. "You'll regret it if you don't... you have to understand...."
Harry lost feeling in his arm for a minute. Sirius knew how easily Harry could've killed him. He'd have no reason to lie, even now, would he?
"Show us your arm." Draco spoke suddenly.
Sirius looked at him. Rolling up both sleeves of his torn robes, he showed skinny, hairy arms. Whatever Draco was looking for wasn't there, evidently.
"I wasn't... I would never--"
Before Sirius could finish speaking, something ginger leapt at him. Crookshanks had gotten Sirius on the ground and settled on his chest-- right over his heart.
"Get off," Sirius muttered, trying to push Crookshanks off him.
But the cat sank his claws into Sirius's robes and refused to move. He turned his squashed face to Harry, and looked up at him with those stupid, yellow eyes. Hermione gave a sob from behind him. Harry's shaking hand tightened around his wand. Hermione wouldn't forgive him if he killed Crookshanks, he was sure. Truthfully, he wouldn't have forgiven himself, and had the stupid cat not gained a place in his heart, he would've done it without a second thought. He was in league with Sirius... no, Black. He didn’t deserve... Sirius. But, Harry remembered, so was Hydrus. He'd just watch his aim, he assured himself, squinting... he wouldn't hit Crookshanks...
He rose his wand; Now was the moment to avenge the sacrifices his parents had made. The spell was on his tongue. He didn't care how wrong it would be to cast-- he was going to do this. He had to do this. This was his chance, he couldn't not take it...
The seconds turned to silent minutes, and Harry still stood, frozen, wand raised, Sirius-- Black, damn it-- and Crookshanks staring at him. He knew the spell. He knew how to say it; He was capable of casting it. He wanted to cast it. But his eyes started to well up, and for a moment, he didn't want to. He wanted to know the whole story.
And then came a new sound--
Muffled footsteps sounded through the floor-- someone was downstairs.
Hermione caught Harry's eye. He took a deep breath in near disbelief. Tears were stinging his eyes.
"WE'RE UP HERE!" she screamed. "WE'RE UP HERE -- SIRIUS BLACK! -- QUICK!"
Black made a startled movement that almost forced Crookshanks to move. Harry looked up-- do it, said a tiny voice in his head, but he couldn't move his arm, he couldn't speak. Footsteps were thundering up the stairs and he'd yet to do it. It wasn't that hard. He wanted this. So why was he-- crying?
The door burst open in a shower of red sparks and Harry wheeled around to see Lupin come hurtling in the room, wand raised and at the ready. With a brisk "Expelliarmus," Harry's wand went flying out his hand-- so did Hermione and the three wands Draco was holding. His eyes flickered across the room. Over Ron, lying on the floor, over Padma, over Lisa, stumbling to get Padma off the ground with a limp arm, over Hermione, cowering at the door, and over Draco, holding Harry's arm, and to Harry himself, standing with tears running down his face. And then to Black, crumpled to the ground and staring, wide-eyed. It must've been an odd sight.
"What happened?" Lupin asked, looking across the room and back once more.
"I don't know," Harry breathed, backing away as Lupin entered. He stared at Black, who still had Crookshanks lying protectively on his chest.
Harry stood still, and not even the urging hands of Draco and Hermione could make him move. He didn't do it. Sirius was going to be handed to the dementors. But for some reason, that, too, left him feeling sickly.
And then Lupin spoke, in an odd, unfamiliar voice that shook with some suppressed emotion. "Where is he, Sirius?"
Sirius? Why was he on first-name terms with him now? And who was he talking about?
Black's face was rather expressionless. For a short moment, he didn't move at all. Then, slowly, he raised his skinny hand and pointed right at Ron. Nearly everyone glanced at Ron, who looked just as confused.
"But then..." Lupin whispered, staring at Black so intently it were as if he were attempting Legilimency. "... why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless..." Lupin's eyes widened, as if he'd seen what no one else could. "...unless he was the one who... unless you... unless you switched... without telling me?"
Very slowly, his dark gaze never leaving Lupin's, Black nodded.
"Professor Lupin," Harry interrupted loudly, not thinking of just what he were doing, "what's going...--?"
But he never finished his question, because what happened next made his voice disappear immediately. Lupin was lowering his wand. He walked to Black's side, and, seizing his hand, pulled him to his feet-- Crookshanks leapt to Hermione, who caught him swiftly, a stunned look on her face. And then, Lupin embraced Black as if they were long-time friends. As if he didn't murder Harry and Hermione's parents.
"The flesh reflects the madness within now, doesn't it, Sirius?" he asked lowly, and Sirius laughed out. "You'd know all about the madness within, wouldn't you?"
Harry's knees nearly buckled and his heart was burning-- he could barely feel his face with how quickly and severely it had flushed in seconds time.
"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione screamed, and Crookshanks jumped at Harry. However much he may not have wanted to, he just barely caught the cat, and he got himself comfortable, purring at once.
Lupin let go of Black to look at her. She had gone away from the rest of them, pointing at Lupin, her eyes livid and face red. "YOU-- you--"
"Hermione, please--"
"--you and him!"
"Hermione, if you would calm down,--"
"I didn't tell anyone!" She shrieked. "I trusted you! You helped me and Harry, and I've been covering up for you, and-- and--!"
"Hermione, please, just listen!" Lupin shouted, "I can explain everything!"
Harry could feel himself shaking, but it was more with a wave of fury and betrayal than fear, or any other emotion he should've felt.
"I trusted you!" he shouted, and his voice was shaky, but there was so much he had to express. Had to say. "You've been his friend this whole time? The first good Defence teacher we have, and I was glad when it was you! I thought-- I thought you were good!"
"Harry, please," said Lupin. "I haven't been Sirius's friend in over twelve years, and I don't know if I am now, but I now know the truth... the truth you two deserve to know... just let me explain...."
“We knew-- you’re-- and we didn’t tell anyone! We-- trusted you! I thought I should’ve told someone, but-- I thought-- you--”
"Should've told someone?" Draco repeated. "You two knew he was helping Black, and you-- you just kept it to yourselves? You didn't think it'd get this bad?"
"No," Hermione breathed, but it was in a way that sounded as if she were covering up the rage that was fuming inside her. "We didn't know that. What we knew-- he-- he's a werewolf! And, now, we do know- he's been helping Black get into the castle, and I bet he wants Harry dead too!"
They had all gone so silent that even the dust falling had made a noise. Everyone's eyes were on Lupin, who, although looked incredibly calm, was unfamiliarly pale.
"One out of three, Hermione, I'm afraid. Not at all up to your usual standard..." he said. "I have not been helping Sirius into the castle and the last thing I want for Harry is his death... or any of you..." An odd chill passed over his face. "But I cannot deny that I am a werewolf."
Ron made an effort to stand back up, but fell back with a pained groan. Lupin made towards him, a concerned look on his face, but Ron gasped, and his ears fell. "Stay back!"
Lupin stopped dead in his tracks. Then, turning back to Harry and Hermione he asked, "How long have you known?"
"Ages." Hermione whispered. "Since Professor Snape's essay."
"Snape 'll be delighted," said Lupin coolly. "He set that essay hoping someone would realise just how similar my symptoms were... pray tell, Harry, how did you come to know?"
"It was... little clues," Harry felt his ears twitch. “I noticed that your fear was- a full moon, and it was real weird you only got sick around-- the- full moon...” Harry muttered. He thought for a long time that Lupin could’ve been a werewolf-- how ironic it was, with his name... then, he assumed it was just him thinking far too much, but now... “UncleMoony.”
Lupin let out a forced laugh.
"You two truly are the most brilliant children I’ve ever met. You’re just like your parents..."
"I'm not." Hermione spoke. "If I were any more brilliant, I'd have told everyone."
"But they already know," said Lupin, shaking his head. "Atleast, the staff do."
"Dumbledore hired you, knowing you were a- werewolf?" Ron asked, gasping.
"No wonder my father thinks Dumbledore's a madman," muttered Draco.
"Some of the staff thought the same." Lupin said. "He hard worked quite hard to convince many of the teachers I was trustworthy--"
"And you weren't." Harry breathed, his face burning. "You've been helping-- him--" he pointed at Black, who'd gone to the four-poster bed and had sunken into it, his face hidden in a shaking hand. "-- all this time?"
It hurt him to say-- to even think, truly-- but he really thought Lupin was good. He'd always known Black was a maniac the day he learned he was his godfather, and before that, he dared think that he really cared, as his and Hermione’s uncle-- and when he learned Lupin knew their parents, too... someone who could've told them anything, anything at all, of what their parents used to be like. Harry got to know what they were like when they were younger, and he couldn't remember a time he'd ever been so happy to hear of them, but at what cost was it that he learned all those things?
"I haven't been helping Sirius." swore Lupin, shaking his head. "If you'll just let me explain, I will. Here--"
He separated Harry, Hermione, Ron, Draco, and Padma's wands, passing them to the respective owner, one-by-one. He tossed Padma's to Lisa.
"There," Lupin said, dropping his wand to the floor. "You're armed. We aren't. Now, please, will you listen?"
"If you haven't been helping him," Harry mumbled, glancing at Sirius with a pit in his chest. "how did you know he was here? That we were here?"
"The map. The-- the Marauder's Map. I was examining it, and--"
"You know how to work it?" asked Draco suspiciously.
"Of course I know how to work it," Lupin said, waving his hand impatiently. "I assisted in creating and writing it. I'm Moony-- that was my friends' nickname for me whilst I was in school."
"So I was right?" Harry asked, and Lupin nodded again.
"Yes, but that's not relevant now. What is important-- I was watching it this evening, because I had the feeling you six would try and sneak out the castle to visit Hagrid before his Hippogriff had gotten executed-- and I was correct, was I not?"
He'd begun to pace up and down, not meeting their eyes. Patches of dust rose at his feet.
"You all must've been underneath James's old cloak, I'm sure-- and you still showed up on the Map. I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. And a near twenty minutes later, you left, and went back towards the castle... but you were now accompanied by someone else."
"Scabbers," Harry mumbled, turning to look at Ron. Things were beginning to make more-- and less-- sense. "He showed up on the map?"
"I knew at once something was wrong, and then... I couldn't believe my eyes at first," Lupin continued, ignoring Harry's interruption. "I thought, at first, the map must've been malfunctioning.... It switched so inconsistently from 'Scabbers' to.... How could he have been with you?"
"He's Ron's pet rat, of course we'd take him with us," Lisa said.
"And then I saw another dot appear, moving quickly towards you... Sirius... I watched him collide with you, and I watched as he pulled two of you to the Whomping Willow, and then Miss Patil and Harry following--"
"One of us!" said Ron angrily.
"No, Ron," denied Lupin. "Two."
He stopped pacing and stared at Ron.
"If I may, could I get a look at the... rat?"
"What?" Ron asked, a stunned look on his face. "What's Scabbers got to do with it?"
"Everything." Lupin responded simply. "Could I see him, please?"
Ron hesitated, but stuck a hand inside his shirt pocket. Scabbers emerged, thrashing desperately-- Ron had to hold him by the tail to stop him from escaping. Crookshanks hopped from Harry's arms back to Hermione's to claw at the rat, hissing.
Lupin moved closer, seemingly holding his breath as he drew near, gazing intently at Scabbers.
"What?" Ron said again, holding Scabbers close, a scared look on his face. "What's my rat got to do with anything? 'E-everything' doesn't--"
"That! That's no rat!" Sirius suddenly croaked.
"What're you talking about-- of course he's a rat--"
"No. He's not." said Lupin quietly. "He's a wizard."
"An Animagus," Lisa gasped, and Sirius spoke.
"An Animagus by the name of Peter Pettigrew."